The Hole Story gameplay that you see here was created as a demo during their time at Girls Make Games.

This Kickstarter will let the girls continue to work on The Hole Story, hire professional artists, musicians, and programmers, and publish a very pretty and complete version of their vision.

The Hole Story will be funded through this Kickstarter campaign, developed at LearnDistrict and published + featured on the Google Play store!

Note: After accounting for game development, publishing costs, and Kickstarter fullfillment, profit from game sales will go directly to the team.

When an unsuspecting young girl finds herself transported to
a mystical world, she must rely on her trusty shovel and quick wits to find her
way home.

After digging up a strange portal in her backyard, budding
young archaeologist Wendy falls through time into a strange new land. She
quickly discovers that her best chance of returning home is to rescue Alonna, a
princess who has gone missing from the kingdom. Her goal in mind, Wendy sets
about resolving the problem the best way she knows how – by digging of course!

Concept Art by Anita Tung (anitatung.com, @anitatung)

The Hole Story is a top-down RPG fantasy adventure created by a talented group of young female
designers. Players solve puzzles by exploring the world and digging up clues in
order to move on. As you progress through 15 increasingly difficult challenges,
you’ll meet a host of humorous characters, unlock secret levels, and earn
experience that can be put towards player customization and gear upgrades. Furthermore,
clue and item locations are entirely randomized, so no two experiences will
ever feel the same!

Wendy Concept Art

A sharp-witted game with mind-bending riddles, The Hole Story is a beautiful testament
to the immense talent contained in gaming’s youngest creative minds.

The Hole Story won Grand Prize at the Inaugural Girls Make Games Demo Day hosted at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.

After 3 weeks of hard work, 5 teams of young game developers pitched their game prototypes to industry veterans:

Student Bios

Karen Xu"I'm an incoming senior at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, CA. I was the programmer for this game, which means I spent a lot of time yelling at my computer and having nightmares about broken code."

Ivy Wooldridge"I'm 16 years old. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. My favorite video game is Professor Layton. I've always loved games that incorporate art and story in the gameplay. I like making video games because my head is full of new worlds and stories."

Serena Rusboldt"I'm Serena! I'm 15 years old and I go to Notre Dame High School. My favorite game is To the Moon. I became interested in video games in 6th grade after playing the Mario game on the Nintendo 64"

Cassia Haralson"Hello, I'm Cassia Haralson and I am soon going to be 13 years old. I was born in Redwood City, CA. When I was younger I didn't play games, but I watched my dad almost every night before bed play Zelda Wind Waker on our GameCube. Currently my favorite game is Minecraft. I really llike creative mode because I am really good at making pixel art."

Samantha HoHi! I'm Samantha Ho and I'm 10 years old. I was born in Connecticut and moved to California. When I was younger, I thought games were a 'boy thing', so I really wasn't into them. Over the past few years, I started to play computer games and apps. My favorite game is Minecraft. At Girls Make Games camp this summer, I learned I liked making games!"

Huaning Wang"I'm Huaning Wang, known to most as Wendy. I am an incoming junior at Vista del Lago High School in Folsom, CA. I unwillingly donated my name to our game. I'm a writer, and I like making games because I want to create interactive stories. My favorite game is The World Ends With You."

Samantha L."Hi, I'm Samantha and I am almost 13 years old. I was born in Palo Alto. I thought that Girls Make Games would be a good place to learn how to create video games and make new friends. I enjoy the game Minecraft because it sparks my creativity."

Avery JohnsonAvery Johnson, 12, joined Girls Make Games as a friend of her fellow Negatives. She helped write the awesome narrative!

Mentor Bios

Anita Tung (artist)Anita Tung grew up in a small town in Michigan, and recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. While not making art, her hobbies include running, slacklining, reading comic books, mixing fruit juices, and walking barefoot outside.www.anitatung.com

Andrew Dang (game designer)"I'm Andrew and I grew up in California. I studied Game Design and Animation at USC. When I played Cloud, I realized that games can let me experience worlds and interactions that are non-violent and relaxing, for e.g., befriending clouds- so I started to make my own games! My favorite game is Banjo Kazooie."www.andrewdang.com

ChrisCunningham aka "CJ the music dude" got his BA in Music from CSU San Jose and has been making his own original music as well as doing covers for years. He has a passion for sound and when he isn't rocking the keyboard or vocals, he's behind the scenes in the studio or even jamming on the Ukulele and Kazoo! Some of Chris's music has been featured in various indie films and video games.

Catherine Grealish (composer) Catherine is an LA-based composer for film, games and media and has experience in a wide range of genres. She is passionate about all things creative, nerd and cat related! Catherine is also an avid evangelist for women in film, games and music. Find her work on www.catherinegrealish.com

Pledge Rewards

Reward Tiers

THANK YOU! You have heaps of our gratitude!! You'll be credited as a Kickstarter backer on the game website!

GMG BACKER! Get access to the alpha prototypes built by the girls! Be credited in the final game. Digital code of the game on release.

GMG Riddler!Get the backer rewards up to GMG AMBASSADOR, PLUS become an NPC WITH A RIDDLE in The Hole Story! Your likeness will be pixelated and The Negatives will write a riddle with you!

GMG MEGA SPONSOR!Individual Level - Mini-Sponsor a girl's tuition to the Girls Make Games camp of your choice in 2015.Corporate Level - Newsletter mention + Get your name on our website!

GMG SUPER-SPONSOR!Individual Level - Super-Sponsor a couple of girls for the Girls Make Games camp of your choice in 2015. Get yourself into The Hole Story as an NPC!Corporate Level - Super-Sponsor a couple of girls for the Girls Make Games camp of your choice in 2015. Newsletter mention + Website Name + Banners at 10 camps of your choice.

LET'S
BE FRIENDS

The girls and team would be very thankful if you could help spread the
news about this game development project on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook,
Instagram, or whichever social media network you prefer.
Please feel free to leave a comment on this kickstarter, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram!! We would love your feedback.
Thank you for all your support and consideration ~

Girls Make Games is a series of international summer camps, workshops and game jams designed to encourage girls to explore the world of video games. With the help of growing list of partners like Google Play, DoubleFine and the Computer History Museum, we're determined to address the gender gap in the games industry, one camp at a time.

WHO WE ARE

We are LearnDistrict, an indie studio based in San Jose, CA. We are committed to providing students with access to knowledge through our games and programs like Girls Make Games.

WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

Emily's story is not unique. From being stereotyped to being ignored, it's hard work trying to combat the hostility that women - especially young women - face in video game communities these days.

One of the reasons we started Girls Make Games was to give burgeoning young developers in the face of these sometimes discouraging experiences the confidence and experience they'll need to pursue careers in video games.

The more support we can get for programs like Girls Make Games, the more confident young women will feel about becoming developers - knowing that others like them are getting the recognition, encouragement, and support they need.

We're reaching over 5,000 girls this year, and want to teach 50,000 girls how to make games by the end of 2015! Help us make the video games industry more diverse by encouraging girls to follow their passion and making the industry a safer place for expression.

Risks and challenges

The biggest risk with this project is timeline. We're running camps and developing our studio's own games alongside which puts us in a time bind. With the Kickstarter's help we'll be able to hire help to get the games out on time.